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New Delhi, December 30 (IANS): The GST Council may consider cutting goods and services tax on air and water purifiers for domestic use from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, reclassifying them as essential items rather than discretionary consumer goods.
It could lower retail prices by about 10-15 per cent, improving affordability for lower‑income families at a time when air quality across the country worsens and access to safe drinking water remains uneven, multiple reports said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The date of the next GST Council meeting remains unknown, the reports said. The Council last met in September for its 56th session, when rates on purifiers were left unchanged, and officials said any reduction would require consensus among state finance ministers.
Pressure on the Council to cut rates intensified after the Delhi High Court earlier this week asked the government to convene a meeting, virtually, if necessary, to consider cutting or abolishing GST on air purifiers amid worsening air quality in Delhi‑NCR.
“There is a process…We are not saying whether it will be done or not,” additional solicitor general N Venkataraman told the court, arguing meetings must be held physically.
The Delhi High Court observed that if clean air cannot be ensured for citizens, at the very least, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on air purifiers should be reduced.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) to declare air purifiers as falling within the category of medical devices and asked the Centre to take immediate instructions on granting a temporary GST exemption.
As per the PIL, air purifiers equipped with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters play a preventive medical role by reducing exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and other hazardous pollutants that aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the abolition of GST, while trade bodies sought a 5 per cent rate.
